The English-language Gramsci blog of Ronny Kjelsberg

I recently picked Victor Klemperer’s diary from his experiences living as a jew in nazi Germany out of the bookshelf and skimmed through some selected parts. One of the most interesting parts from the early days is his brief but passioned description of how the german institutions fell quite resistanceless against the nazi party takeover, … More Gramsci vs. Klemperer

I have written a paper that will be featured in the coming issue of the journal Gramsciana. Rivista internazionale di studi su Antonio Gramsci. (Visit their facebookpage for updates.) The subject of the paper is a public debate about Gramsci that ran in Norway in academic and left-political circles around 1980, mostly regarding Gramscis relationship to … More Gramsciana

As the few determined readers of this off-and-on blog probably have gathered by now, I believe that one of the most important contributions Antonio Gramsci has made to modern political thought, is his break with the economic determinism of many early Marxists. It has been an ongoing debate, to which extent Marx himself can be … More Disproving Economic Determinism – The Chinese Connection

Like Antonio Gramsci found himself confined to Mussolini’s dungeons, having to jot down short lines of thought in small notebooks, I at times find myself confined to the kitchen table, by a laptop, forced by an uncontrollable impulse to comment on something I have seen or read, to write a few short lines about … More Gramsci, Journalism and Rational Thinking

Like Antonio Gramsci found himself confined to Mussolini’s dungeons, having to jot down short lines of thought in small notebooks, I at times find myself confined to the kitchen table, by a laptop, forced by an uncontrollable impulse to comment on something I have seen or read, to write a few short lines about some … More Gramsci, common sense and the Norwegian right

Recently I was asked to Chair a seminar on grass roots mobilization Attac arranged in Trondheim, with participation from Kari Kristensen, who had recently returned from a solidarity journey to Greece, and Fransisco Sanches from the Spanish party Podemos. The growth of Podemos A lot of the discussion naturally revolved around Podemos’ growth … More Gramsci in Spain

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About this blog

After having written a bilingual blog (Norwegian and English, all though mostly Norwegian) at Venstresida.net over many years, now and then writing on Gramsci-related subjects, I decided to try separating these posts in a separate blog. This one. Do not expect this blog to be updated daily.

About the author
Ronny Kjelsberg is an assistant professor at Sør-Trøndelag University College in Trondheim, Norway. He was County Council representative of the Red party in Sør-Trøndelag 2007-2015, and has also been active in different other organizations like the Norwegian Civil Servants Union, and Attac.